2000
#4,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,014
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.60
Rare Last name
Welborn
A surname derived from a place name meaning "spring or stream by a spring or well."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,856 Americans carry the last name Welborn. That puts it at #4,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,630 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Welborn surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Welborn with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.9K
1 in 43,630
Census rank
#4,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,851 bearers of the surname Welborn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Welborn, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Welborn
The surname Welborn has its origins in England, with the earliest records dating back to the late 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "wæl," meaning "slaughter" or "carnage," and "burna," meaning "stream" or "brook." This suggests that the name may have referred to a person living near a stream or river where a battle or slaughter had taken place.
The name Welborn is closely related to the place name Welbourn, a village located in Lincolnshire, England. This place name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Welleburne," which further supports the theory of its Old English origins. It is possible that some of the earliest bearers of the surname Welborn may have come from or lived in this village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Welborn can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, which mention a person named William Welburne. Another early record is from the Curia Regis Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1221, where a Roger Welburn is mentioned.
In the 13th century, the surname appears in various spellings, such as Welleborne, Welleburne, and Welburne, reflecting the variations in pronunciation and spelling during that time period.
Notable individuals with the surname Welborn throughout history include:
1. John Welborn (c. 1590-1660), an English clergyman and author who served as the Archdeacon of Norfolk from 1633 to 1660.
2. Thomas Welborn (c. 1640-1707), an English Quaker minister and writer who traveled extensively and published several religious works.
3. James Welborn (1778-1847), an American politician and lawyer from Kentucky who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1827 to 1835.
4. William Welborn (1828-1899), an American Civil War soldier and businessman from Tennessee who later became a prominent figure in the cattle industry in Texas.
5. John Welborn Root (1887-1963), an American architect and author who designed several notable buildings in Chicago, including the Aon Center (formerly the Standard Oil Building).
While the surname Welborn may not be as widespread as some others, its historical roots in England and association with place names and notable individuals spanning several centuries contribute to its distinctive identity and legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Welborn
Among Census respondents with the surname Welborn, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Welborn bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Welborn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 5,978
- Black or African American4.9% · 334
- Two or more races4.2% · 287
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 195
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Welborn
Welborn appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,956
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,095
+81 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 2.41
Rank movement Down 334 places
2020
#4,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,851
-244 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Down 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,622 | 7,014 | 2.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,956 | 7,095 | 2.41 | +81 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 334 places |
| 2020 | #4,967 | 6,851 | 2.29 | -244 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 11 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Welborn surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,956 | #4,967 | -0.2% |
| Count | 7,095 | 6,851 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.41 | 2.29 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Welborn bearers went from 7,095 to 6,851 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,956 to #4,967.
FAQ
Welborn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Welborn?
Name Census estimates that about 7,856 living Americans carry the surname Welborn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,630 residents.
How common is Welborn?
Welborn ranks #4,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,851 people with the surname Welborn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,856), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Welborn.
Has Welborn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Welborn went from 7,095 recorded bearers to 6,851. That is a decrease of 244 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,956 to #4,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Welborn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Welborn, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Welborn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (5,978 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Welborn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Black (4.9%), Two or More Races (4.2%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Welborn (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Welborn mean?
A surname derived from a place name meaning "spring or stream by a spring or well." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Welborn (2.29 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Welborn?
See how common the surname Welborn is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.